Fullmetal Alchemist: Journey
by StarCreater1
Summary: This story takes place after BROTHERHOOD. Ed and Al have defeated father, and are on a mission to track down a mysterious alchemist in Xing. In this story Alphonse Elric still has his armor body, Roy Mustang is Fuhrer of Amestris, and Ling Yao is Emperror of Xing. I did not write this alone, it follows the plot of a role play I do with my best friend, neither of us own FMA.
1. Chapter 1

Satori Biship & Quitze Pilling

Fullmetal Alchemist:

**Journey**

**Chapter one**

The rain fell, persistant and dripping. It wet a wide variety of people throughout Xing, all scurrying into the cover of buildings with heavily slanted roofs, the ends turned up in an ancient Xingese style. Having been searching the unfamilier streets for more than a few days, Roy Mustang found himself sopping wet and irratable. A mood he always settled into when the sky made his thoughts cloudier then they already were. Beside him Edward Elric looked like nothing more then a red puddle of mud and H20, his unusually short height adding to the illusion. The young alchemist growled in an atempt to get Mustang to buy him some coffee or something warm.

The mud puddle glared up at him with sharp golden eyes and pressed his argument further, "We've been searching for four days straight, I thought you'd give up trying to brave the rain by now!" he scuffed the ground angrily with his black boot, the red sol forcing water to splash up, "Why not send some men to look for this guy instead?" He snorted in anser to his own question, "Looks like the new Fuhrer's afraid to trust his own men."

"Watch it Fullmetal, I don't think someone so keen to bring up my new position should be so eager to lose his own." Mustang gave Edward a look that said he was teasing, but only just.

Edward shoved his left hand into his pocket, inwardly groaning about how rusty his right arm would be if he didn't dry it properly later, which the odds of him doing just that were lower than the chance that the rain might end soon. He and Al had come to help Mustang track down a new Alchemist. He just hadn't expected it to rain all the deserts rain, in the same week he had been there. Or for Winry to insist on joining them, or for May to show up and run around Alphonse with a persistant obession that just about sent Ed over the edge. So far this trip had been nothing but an aching pain in his automail ports.

But the past days had come up with nothing, which honestly didn't surprise Edward in the least. How were you supposed to track down someone whose biggest hobby is setting things on fire if it's pooring water? He was tired of Mustang's snappy orders and irratable attitude. He travled his gaze to look at the older mans face. What Edward did not expect to see was the corner of Roy's mouth twitching into a flickering smile, his deep black eyes narrowed with a certain curiosity; the dangerous kind.

As Edward watched, the familiar reasoning look Roy always held in his eyes flashed away like the flames he so liked to create, there, but gone the next second. Though it looked like something had cought fire in Roy's mind and Ed doubted he could put it out.

"You know Fullmetal, a while a ago back in Central when Havoc and I fought Lust, I used the water on the floor to make fire after turning it into Hydrogen and Oxygen again." With this statement a wild look came over him, and Roy clapped his hands together and knelt to the ground, two actions Ed still hadn't gotten used to seeing Mustang carry out and reminded himself how Mustang had been forced to open his own portal and meet Truth. Though seeing Truth was supposed to make you wiser, Edward was seriously questioning the wisdom in what he was sure Mustang was about to do.

The water on the ground evaporated and blue transmutation flashes zipped down the street like Lightning. They reached into the sky. Raindrops disapeard in blue sparks and with a snap of Mustangs newly gloved fingers, erupted into a magnificint fire show that shifted oragne light down the ally. Laughter forced it's way through Roy's usually sinister lips and rang inside Edwards ears.

Mustang had set fire to the rain.

The red coat Edward was wearing whipped around, threatening to catch fire as he frantically searched for a safe place to take cover and think about how to stop this madness. The asnwer flew into him when his younger brother exited the shop they were just outside of and yelped when Ed threw off his metal helmet and jumped inside Al's empty armor body. At least Ed had thought it was empty.

He crashed in on top of May Chang. Xingese princess or not her favorite place was inside the safety of Al's armor. She gave a shriek full of words Ed couldn't hear because his elbow was covering her mouth. He pushed off her and awkwardly glued himself to Al's left side, giving May as much space to put between them as she could. "What is she doing in here?! Al I thought you said you didn't let people inside your armor because they might ruin your blood seal, She could destroy you at any moment!" He shot the words out before thinking about their true meaning, like he always did, and knew he was about to pay for it.

It was true, any person inside Al's empty body could kill him with one wipe of a sleeve. His blood seal was convieniently located in between the armors shoulders. If one part of that cirlce was smeared away the iron in Al's armor would no longer bond with the iron in Ed's blood and Alphonse Elric would no longer exist in soul or body on this side of the gate. It was a unstable and lonely existance but Al was greatful for it. He was still alive, and Ed had given up his own arm in exchange for the chance to bond his brothers soul to the armor, knowing it might not even be possible.

"Brother!" Al let out an exhasperated gasp and threw his elder brother back into the fire rain, "She's been in there before, and so has Winry so don't give me that!"

Edward thumped to the ground and flailed, trying desperatly not to catch on fire. "Mustang stop it! This is way out of hand! Al, let me back in!"

Mustang laughed like a madman and Ed knew the Fuhrer was lost in his day dream, where his greatest enemy, rain, had turned into his best friend, fire. Ed tossed the thought around in his head with amusment, Mustang had been driven out of his mind by just a few days of being cold and wet. It was almost pathetic, and yet it somehow suited him.

"This is rediculous!" Ed clapped his hands together and dropped to the ground, rolling away from his useless brother and thrust his white gloved hands onto the ground. With an alchemical flash, a fist the size of Al sprang out of the ground and wrapped it's fingers around Mustangs torso like the ground was taking it's vengance on him. Ed danced his way around flames until he could glare up at Mustang from many feet bellow, looking even smaller then usual in contrast to the huge fist that held Mustang a few feet higher in the air. "Stop the rain and I might put you down."

Roy's hair whipped as he pulsed against the steely grasp of the fingers that crushed his arms to his sides and half declared, half wailed his response, "No! I WILL defeat the rain!"

Ed looked at Al, an annoyed sense to him "You got any good ideas other then leaving me out here to roast?!"

Alphonse took no note of Ed's smart remark and turned to find the only person who could probably calm Mustang down. Seeing it rain fireballs was pretty strange, but he certainly wouldn't put it past Mustang to do something like that, especially when his asistant wasn't there to talk some sense into him. He pushed open the door of the shop he had just left and emerged a moment later with First Liuetenant Riza Hawkeye. She was about half head shorter than Mustang, who was just above six feet tall, her blonde hair pinned up behind her head. In her hands she held a closed umbrella and strode over to Mustang, completely acostomed to the disasters he could create.

Fire flickered in her stern amber eyes, glowing the same way fire glowed off metal. When she reached the Fuhrer she held out the umbrella and gave him a disaproving stare. "Here, now put out these flames before you destroy this city." When Roy did nothing in reply but look at her with resentment as he struggled against his binds she continued, "You can have this umbrella sir. You don't want to harm any of the innocent people here and give Ling a reason to arrest you." She shifted her gaze to Ed, "Put him down Edward."

Edward didn't move at first but after being reminded of how effective the hawks glare was clapped his hands to the ground. The giant fist dropped Mustang into a pitiful heap on the ground and melted away.

Mustang knelt, mud smeered on his jacket where the hand had held him. When he looked up it was to servey the damage he had done and frown at his luitenant. He pouted, much like a child and put his own hands together. When he pressed them to the ground the same flashes as before sped down the alley and into the air. Fire was turned into water again. He pushed off the ground and clenched his jaw. As Riza handed him the umbrella she wondered if it was the realization of what he had done that was keeping him quiet or if he still hadn't woken from his daze.

The rain began to fall again, putting out the last of the fire and Edward pointed out the obvious, "You've really done it this time." He gave Riza a look, "I think Ling has reason to arrest him."

She sighed in reply, "Sometimes I think his temper is no better then yours Edward." She straitened her posture and composed herself. Regardless of the fact she and Mustang had known each other much longer then they had known the military, he was still her superior officer. The Fuhrer now. "Forgive me sir, that last comments was uncalled for."

Mustang shook his head and brushed off their comments, "Well at least it sent a message to the other Flame Alchemist." He let out a sigh of his own.

Sensing Mustang was back to himself and able to make good decisions again Edward asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to, "So what do we do now?"

"Lay low for a while. I think we all should, I cant imagine Ling being very happy about this." Finishing off his sentance Mustang again aprecciated the fact that Ling Yao had gotten what he worked hard for, he knew it was hard work, and became emperror of Xing. He was sure that the consiquences for what he had just done would be far less under Lings rule then they would have been if one of Lings brothers had claimed the crown. Still though, he wasn't to keen on getting cought right away.

The door of the shop slamming woke the croud from their thoughts. "What did you DO Ed?!" The voice was full of accusation and a frightening tone the young mechanic had mastered after years of yelling at Ed and Al for any number of things. After all she had grown up with those two, and she knew best how to scold them. She clenched her fists at her sides and leaned forward on her toes, as if she were about to run down the street and take flight.

Edward was eager to defend himself, for once he wasn't guilty. "Most of it wasn't me this time! Ask Al!"

"For once he's telling the truth, it was Mustang." It wasn't the first time Ed and Winry had depended on him for verification. He was far more honest then either of them could ever hope to be.

Winry's face contorted into a look of disbelief then shock when she looked at Mustang who's guilt shone across his eyes. For once Edward had been innocent. And he was unharmed which was just as much a miracle. Maybe he was starting to take care of himself, trying harder not to get hurt, or better, finally attempting not to ruin her perfect automail every other week.

Winry's bright blue orbs dashed to meet Edwards gold ones when he spoke again, this time his voice full of concern, "Winry," he paused and looked up at the sky, "I think we should find somewhere safe for you to stay. Ling will be looking for us now and there's no need for you to come with us to get locked up or something. Just find somewhere to wait for me. Al, maybe May should go home too, she can still get out of this."

"How does this always happen?! I thought we were here on some peace mission or something!" Winry sounded frustrated. No matter how safe Ed said they would be, those brothers couldn't step three feet out of her sight without getting into trouble. But at least this time it wasn't their fault.

A wrench that seemed to appear from nowhere landed it's mark on Roy's shoulder. He flinched but made no attempt to deflect it, though he could have with a simple wave of his hand. It clattered to the ground and Winry strode to pick it up. When she stood straight again, she brushed some loose strands of her blonde hair, which always escpaped it's pony tail, over her shoulder and gave Mustang a fierce look, powered by concern for him and Riza, but mostly Edward and Alphonse. "Don't do that again."

Ed's snickering was drowned out by Al's echoing voice. "May, I think he's is right, you should go home."

"But, will you be ok Alphonse?"

"I'll be fine."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He said it with finality.

Al released the straps that held on his chest plate to let May crawl out. It was no wonder she was comfortable inside him, she was smaller then even Edward. Her white slippered feet landed on the ground silently and she brushed off her pink sash. She was dressed in pink silk right up to the ribbons that held her thousands of braids from her shoulders. May Chang was a princess after all. Sure, her clan was one of the poorest but when she returned home from Amestris with Ling he had promised her clan would be well cared for when he became Emperror. He had come home with the power she had left to look for, he had just beaten her to it. But he kept his promise and a completely un likely alliance had formed between the Yao and Chang clans.

May smiled up at Al through her short black bangs and hugged his leg. Her companion, a panda with a desease that had stunted her growth, leaving her no larger then a kitten landed on her shoulder. "Come on Xiao may, let's go home." She ran down the street and looked over her shoulder at Al. "Be careful!"

"I will." Al seemed to sigh as he watched her go. Someday he'd have his body back, and maybe then he could be with May without feeling guilty that she was endlessly affectionate to him, but he could never return her warm hugs. Besides the fact that he was hard and spikey, Al was cold too. He knew she didn't care that he wasn't soft and warm, but that was only a matter of time.

Now that May was gone both brothers turned expectantly to Winry. "Well, are you going Winry? It's probably safer if you do."

"No," Winry answered Al and shook her head. "I'm not going to just wait again. Whatever happens I'm sure Ling won't be upset with me." She smiled, "After all, he did offer me to be his wife once. Though I doubt he was serious."

Ed's jaw dropped to the ground, "When was that?! What else has that sneaky little devil been up to?"

Winry giggled, "Geez Ed, you'd think I said yes the way your acting!"

"Wha-what? I just mean that..." His face flushed and he hid his bright cheeks behind long golden bangs, his braid flicked as he turned away from her.

Al chuckled to himself. All these years and Ed still couldn't figure out his was in love with Winry. Sometimes he wondered if he should tell him, but he wasn't sure how Ed would react, and he didn't want to ruin anything. Besides, he was still shorter then Winry and if memory served right, she had shot both himself and Ed down when they were kids because of it.

Riza cleared her throat and adressed everyone who was left. "It might be wise to find cover. We're an easy capture out in the open like this." The way she said it made it seem as though it had underlying meaning. Like she knew just how vulnerable they were because she herself was a hunter. A sniper of Ishval, possibly the best shot in the military, though she would never brag about it. Her ability to kill wasn't one she proud of, and she was especially not proud of the time she spent in Ishval.

"Agreed, there's an empty warehouse not far from here we could shelter in." Roy's answer was short and to the point. No need to waste time. And what was there to say anyway? He had stepped out of line, and as the Fuhrer that was absolutly unacceptable.

Ed nodded and shot Al an angry look. Al ducked his head and followed his brother. He supposed Ed was angry at him for throwing him out into the fire.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors note: Make sure you read the summary of the story or you will be lost! Also, I don't have spell check so I apologize for any mistakes. Please, leave a review. :) Enjoy. **

**Chapter two**

The night grew and crept up on the warehouse in silence. Inside there was a soft light that gently shone across crates and broken light bulbs hanging from the ceiling from a lone lantern someone had left behind with just enough propane to last the night. The glow reflcted warmly across the faces of the party that was staying here. Ed slumped down against a crate and stretched his left automail leg out long, keeping his right bent to rest his arm on. Alphonse sat with an eerie quiet on a crate not far from his brother, if he didn't move you could almost say there wasn't a boy there, just a magnificant old suit of armor. Winry found her own crate to lean on in between Ed and Al and she folded her legs at her side.

The only two who weren't sitting were in military uniform, colored a subtle blue color. Mustang's tail skirt swished behind him as he paced and his Liuetenants keen eyes follwed his movements with cool composure.

Winry tried her best not to interrupt his thought process but he had been pacing like this for almost five minutes and no one had moved an inch the whole time. "So... what now?" Immediately she had wished she had thought of a better question.

Mustang stopped pacing, his swooping tail skirt coming to rest around his legs. "By now Ling will have the entire Royal Guard looking for us." He thread his hands through his hair and turned away from the group. He was silent a moment then spoke into the darkness in front of him which threw his voice around the warehouse for the rest to hear, " I think I should turn myself in and insist none of you had anything to do with my actions. I will also be blamed for the actions of the other flame alchemist because Ling doesn't know he exists. You will be free to continue the search."

Ed's voice erupted from his dark corner in protest, "Hey! Justa second, you can't just give up like that!"  
"With all due respect sir, I have to agree with Edward. There must be something else we can do." Ed was surprised to hear Riza agree with him.

Roy turned to look at his subordinates and dropped his hand from his hair, "You have to admit there aren't many other options and even most of those end with all of you getting blamed when it was only my fault in the first place. You have to find the other Flame Alchemist and stop him, and you can't do that if your hiding from the Emperor."

Riza accepted that Mustang wasn't changing his mind. "Fine, but after we find him Ling will let you go, right?"

"Maybe, but he didn't set fire to the capital of Xing."

Ed chimed in one more time with a mischevious smirk on his lips and slipped his arms behind his head, "Yeah, but Ling doesn't know that."

"Then you'll just have to give him a dangerous Flame Alchemist to take my place." A sideways smile played across Mustang's face. Regardless of the fact that Ed's smart remarks and risky methods often got them into trouble, Mustang appreciated how naive he was.

"Well I'm sure we can find a way to stop him from using his alchemy right? I mean, there has to be a way to stop YOU from using yours isn't there?"

Then there were Ed's comments that lacked tact and good thought. He sometimes blurted things out that would have been better left unsaid. Mustang frowned and looked at Riza. She, after all was the only reason he was able to use Flame Alchemy. It certainly didn't belong to him, it belonged to her and her father.

"I can take care of that part sir."

He nodded. "That settles it. I'll be Lings prize until you capture the other one. Just don't disable him until Ling sees what he can do or I may never get out of there."

Riza scanned him over with a neutral gaze. It was hard to tell what she was thinking. "Right, but you should stay and rest here tonight, you look tired."

Mustang nodded again and slumped his way down to the floor, leaning on a crate. He shut his eyes and was asleep almost instantly. It seemed setting fire to the rain had not been an easy feat.

As Riza placed herself on top of a crate, and leaned against another, Ed glanced at Winry who was wearing her usual black skirt and cream tank top with a small black overcoat, all of which were still wet since she wasn't outside for the fire show. She looked as though she was trying hard not to shiver and her damp hair didn't seem to be helping. He shrugged off his long red coat and dropped it in front of her knees, rolling on his side facing away from her. "Use that and get some sleep."

Winry didn't know what to say. It was hardly ever that Ed went out of his way to make her comfortable. Finally she came up with, "Thanks Ed." and pulled it on top of her, turning away from him a little. "Good night." She was thankful it was dark and Al couldn't see the blush that had spread across her face.

. . .

Al jumped to his feet, sure he had heard something this time. Like a angry whispering. Riza's eyes flashed open and she was on her feet in a moment, hand resting on her gun holster.

"What's wrong Alphonse?"

"This is the second time I've heard something, like loud whispering." He sat back down. "It's probably just some early workers."

Riza nodded and dropped her hand from it's familiar perch. "Wake me up again if you hear anything unusual."

"Mmm, I will."

Outside a dark figure cursed under it's breath. "Damn cat."

. . .

Edward gasped for breath when he shot awake from his dream. Images of his failed human transmutation shifted through his brain as he searched the room for Al. When he saw him he hung his head and closed his eyes.

"Brother," Al said softly, "Are you alright?"

Ed opened his eyes to the sound of Al's voice and stared at the floor. "Yeah, I'm fine Al."

Al looked at his brother, glistening with sweat. As terrible and frightening as it looked, Al envied his brother the opportunity to dream, and have nightmares, even though he knew Ed suffered from them more often than any teenage boy should. He suddenly felt bad for throwing him into the fire earlier when he had just been concerned about his safety.

"Um, I'm sorry about earlier. When I threw you into the fire rain, I should have handled it better. I was just worried about May."

"Mmm. It doesn't matter, I'm fine." Ed paused, "May is really important to you huh?"

Al lifted his arm and rubbed the back of his helmet for lack of anything better to do. "Uh... Yeah. she is." It felt awkward talking to Ed about May like that, he didn't usually ask about her. But he guessed that was probably because they never talked about girls period. Well, at least not since they had grown up enough to understand those conversations.

Ed layed back down again, just as put off by his question as Al. "Right. well, night Al."

"Sleep well brother."

. . .

The next day they ate a measly breakfast Ed had retrieved for them after everyone had agreed he was the best to go out, seeing as he was small enough to go unnoticed. The warehouse slowly seemed to turn into a sauna, the warm sun radiating through the walls, and shedding light through one the window on the back wall.

Mustang shifted his feet as he leaned back on his crate. "You know Fullmetal, it's a pity you didn't have enough money to buy some coffee, I'm going to fall asleep on my way to the palace." he smirked.

"Shuttup you bastard. While your up there getting your fill in prison we'll all be down here scrambling to get breakfast!" Ed pushed off the crate he was leaning on with his elbow and uncrossed his legs, "When are you leaving anyway?"

"Calm down Fullmetal, no ones going hungry." The Fuhrer stood up and straightened his blue coat, pulling a heavy bag of Xingese coins from his pocket, he handed it to his liuetenant. "Now. I don't see any reason to sit here for any longer."

Ed snorted as Riza took the money and looked at the Fuhrer with her watchful gaze. "Be careful sir." She didn't say anything else but traced her eyes over his shoulder. Four golden stars lay on each shoulder, each one a symbol to her of what they had achieved. Her thoughts were a blur of uncertainty though she didn't let it show in her expression. Even now, as the most powerful man in the country Mustang insisted he needed her at his side. She had already known he would but it seemed different now. After all, she was supposed to protect him, and now she was about to sit back and watch as he turned himself in.

Mustang nodded. "Take care Liuetenant. And Fullmetal," he looked at Edward carefully, "find that alchemist."

Ed gave him a serene look, knowing full well why exactly the Flame Alchemist had to be caught. Not only for Mustangs sake but for the sakes of Amestris and Xing. "Yeah, don't worry about it. He won't know what got him!"

The Fuhrer nodded then promptly left the warehouse, keeping his gaze dead ahead of him.

There was a great silence. One that seemed to feed on the thoughts of the people still sitting on crates.

After a long pause Edward finally said someting, "So what do we do now that he's gone?" he didn't sound as sure of himself as he had appeared to be just moments ago. "I mean, I know we have to find this guy, but what's our strategy?"

Riza had already planned what they would do and began to answer him while she slid her gaze away from the door Mustang had just walked out. "We start searching again right away. We'll split into two teams to cover more land and keep an eye on each other."

Edward did not look enthusiastic, nor did he look like he wanted to be separated from either Al or Winry. "Who said you get to make the plans?"

"I'm the highest ranking officer here Edward. Don't forget this is a military mission."

Ed sighed. He hated military missions, they took away his freedom. When he and Al traveled, they pulled the moves together, working as one unit. When it came to the military he and his brother were used as pawns, and the people he didn't want to get involved usually did. Winry had nothing to do with this mission and yet here she was being pulled into it. But he wasn't about to suggest she stay here alone while the three of them searched.

"Yeah, fine. Teams then."

"Winry and me." Al said. "It might be a good idea if one team didn't have any military involvment since people still don't trust the Amestrian military."

Al was right. Many people despised the Amestrian military and no one in Xing had any good reason to immediately trust it. Amestris was famous for bloodshed. The country had been founded for the soul purpose of creating a powerful philosophers stone, which was only achieved through killing humans, capturing their soul energy and compressing it into a stone. It was a dirty scheme and once the word had spread of the country's true purpose, a war was fought between the Homunculus named Father; who started it all, his pawns; homunculi and military men alike, and the people of Amestris, military men and women who fought to save the country from it's first purpose and give it a new one.

"Yeah but-" Ed glanced at the liuetenant. "I don't want to be stuck with her! No one has to know I'm part of the military, I don't have the uniform on." He looked at Winry for help.

Winry waved her hands and shrugged, "This sounds really familiar." She had often been the item of Ed and Al's arguments when they were kids, fighting over which one got to hand her her birthday present, teach her the new paths they had found to explore in the fields out back or even which one was going to marry her. Of course those had been childhood arguments that were forgotten as soon as something new and more interesting had came up. She knew this would be no different but still didn't want to be in the middle of it.

Ed blushed, remembering the arguments him and Al would have and scratched his head, "Fine, nevermind." He turned back to Riza, "Where are we searching?"

Riza nodded, "You and I will cover from here to Ling's palace," She looked and Al, "You and Winry will get from here to the train station. We'll search for any signs of excessive flames."

"But how are we supposed to find any signs of Flame Alchemy if Mustang set the rain on fire? Won't the whole city be a disaster?" Al asked.

"The buildings here in Xing are all made from a resistant sand stone, so the damage to the city was minor. We're looking for more concentrated signs of fire. Something that doesn't fit into the pattern the Fuhrer set." Riza straigtened her coat, "If you can understand any Xingese, listen to the townspeople for news, they could have useful information."

She barely had any time to finish her sentence before a loud bang was heard not far off. Everyone in the warehouse jumped.

"That was a gunshot right?" Ed was on his feet, ready to run out of the building and investigate the loud shot.

Riza gave Ed a warning look, "Don't go running into things before you have a plan Edward."

Al stood up in a hurry and brought his hands to his helmet, his metal arms catching the light through the window, giving it a sharp glow. "What about Mustang? What if they shot him?!"

The liuetenants eyes widened, a new urgency coursing through her. What if they had decided he was too dangerous to keep prisoner and shot him? She could feel the familiar sensation of adreneline rushing through her veins, and she immediately took control of it. It had been her best friend on many missions and she had learned how to keep it in check.

"Alphonse, you and Winry stay here. If Ed and I aren't back in two hours come look for us. Don't seperate."

Edward glanced at Al and Winry. He needed to know what had happened out there. He hoped it wasn't Mustang who had been shot, that it was someone else, and immediatley a wave of guilt washed over his tense body. What right did he have to wish another person dead? No matter who it was, someone would suffer.

"I'll be right back guys." He turned to follow Riza out of the building.

"Brother...!" Alphonse didn't like this. If Mustang had been shot, who's to say Ed couldn't be.

Ed seemed to know what his brother was thinking, "Take care of Winry while I'm gone ok?"

Her voice was small but she new Edward wasn't going to step down from this and she didn't expect him to. Mustang and him had some sort of complicated friendship that meant more than the playful insults they tossed back and forth. She didn't know if she'd ever understand it but she knew it meant more to Edward then he would ever admit. "Come back safe Ed."

"You got it." He turned his head away, his braid flicking in farewell and left the warehouse after the Liuetenant.

. . .

Out on the streets the air was warm for the first time in a week. It glowed off the sides of colorful brick buildings as Edward and Riza Hawkeye made they're way through the back alleys in the direction of the gunshot.

Edward watched what he could see of Riza's face as they pushed around garbage cans behind an old restaurant. Her eyes were set ahead of her and no part of her showed if she was worried. Examining her expression was only something to pass the time, Edward knew she was barely resisting the urge to sprint into the middle of the street to see what had happened, just as he was. She and Mustang had worked together since they had met up in Ishval and whatever promise, or bond they had, he knew meant more to Riza than anything else in all of Amestris or Xing. He was afraid of what would happen to her if Mustang was suddenly gone.

They rounded a corner and Riza stopped. From here they would be able to see the intersection the gunshot came from. So far the path they had taken was along the same route one would take to the palace. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, feeling Edward beside her, waiting for her to tell him what she could see. She opened her eyes and peered around the corner. Immediately she pulled back, her sharp eyes had quickly spotted what she was looking for.

The four stars shone brightly off the shoulder of Roy Mustang's bloodsoaked jacket as his body was pulled onto a cot and carried out of view.


End file.
